South Carolina vs. Stanford: 3 insane things you may have missed from Women’s Final Four

South Carolina’s season ended in heartbreak, while the Stanford Cardinal move on to the National Championship Game.

Stanford will appear in its first National Championship since 2010. A hectic finish gave the Gamecocks two opportunities from point-blank range to win the game. Down by just one point, a USC steal led to a made scramble, with Gamecocks’ Brea Beal and Aliyah Boston missing from just beyond the rim in brutal fashion.

Stanford, meanwhile, wins on a clutch bucket from Haley Jones, after the Gamecocks flourished late in a daring comeback attempt.

A second-chance opportunity — a theme of the night for Stanford — gave Jones a sweet baseline jumper for what would eventually become the game-winning shot.

3. Lexie Hull excels despite poor shooting night

Hull had a tough night shooting the ball, going just 4-of-17 from the field, but a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Combine that with 13 rebounds — including six on the offensive glass — plus four assists and Hull found a way to make a major impact despite facing a dominant rebounding team in South Carolina.

Hull stands just 6-foot, yet still found a way to make an impact on the boards with South Carolina bigs Boston and Victari Saxton in the way, which takes us to our next point.

2. South Carolina failed to dominate on the boards

South Carolina had been the best rebounding team in the country entering the Final Four. Yet, in Thursday night’s game, Stanford very nearly out-rebounded them, barely missing the mark at a 36-40 disadvantage.

Hull, for one, contributed 13 rebounds, and the number of second-chance points for the Cardinal played a major role in the final scoreline. Heck, just look at Stanford’s final bucket.

1. Give Haley Jones her due

While South Carolina was the team known for their three-point shooting, specifically Zia Cooke, who had 25 points and went 3-of-7 from deep, it was Jones who led her team to victory.

Jones only averaged a bit over 12 points-per-game in the regular season, but had arguably her best game in the Final Four, scoring an efficient 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting. While star Hull struggled to get going beside her, Jones served as a reliable force for Stanford to count on when they needed her the most.

This included the game-winning bucket, arguably the biggest of Jones’ brief college career so far. The sophomore’s profile is only growing as Stanford heads to the National Title Game.

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